The Blue Jays still aren’t officially eliminated from the post-season, but they may as well be because there’s no coming back from this.
uncertain
they → eliminate → this
Toronto’s chances of making the playoffs went from highly unlikely to borderline impossible following another poor showing deep in the heart of Texas.
asserted
chances → make → Texas
When the moment demanded something big, the Jays came up small.
asserted
Jays → demand → something
The Jays were held without a hit through five innings and finished with just six in a 6-2 loss to the Rangers on Saturday night.
asserted
Jays → hold → night
Nothing short of a miracle will save the Jays now.
asserted
Nothing → save → Jays
The Chicago White Sox earned a 3-1 victory over the Detroit Tigers to move three games ahead of the Jays for the third and final American League wild card.
asserted
Sox → earn → card
However, the deficit is actually four because the White Sox also own the tiebreaker.
asserted
Sox → own → tiebreaker
It would be hard enough to make up that kind of gap across a few weeks.
asserted
It → make → weeks
The Jays have to do it in seven games, which means even if they go 6-1 the rest of the way, the White Sox or Cleveland Guardians would only have to go 3-4 to stay in front.
asserted
Sox → have → front
The Rangers are two games up on Toronto and will look to complete the sweep on Sunday.
asserted
Rangers → look → Sunday
Fatigue was definitely a factor in Jays ace Dylan Cease’s struggles on Friday night, and injuries have taken a toll on the entire starting staff.
asserted
injuries → take → staff
The lineup doesn’t have those same excuses.
asserted
lineup → have → excuses
Beyond losing Addison Barger for the season, most of their guys have been healthy.
asserted
most → lose → guys
The Jays are averaging just 4.03 runs per game, second fewest in the majors.
asserted
Jays → average → majors
It’s also the lowest output in franchise history since they averaged 4.02 in 1982.
asserted
they → ’ → 1982
They have scored three runs or fewer 74 times this season, which is nearly half their games.
asserted
which → score → runs
There were some brief moments of production during a strong run in August and early September, but the lack of offence has lingered throughout the season.
asserted
lack → be → season
The Jays caught a bit of a break in Saturday night’s game when Rangers starter Cal Quantrill had to depart after four batters because of an injury.
asserted
Quantrill → catch → injury
They still couldn’t do anything with it.
asserted
They → do → it
The Jays didn’t have a hit until Brett Bateman singled with one out in the sixth inning.
asserted
Bateman → have → inning
Prior to that, their only two baserunners reached base via a walk and a hit batter.
asserted
baserunners → reach → walk
Alejandro Kirk drove in the Jays’ first run in the sixth, while Davis Schneider hit a meaningless solo homer in the seventh.
asserted
Schneider → drive → seventh
The Rangers used a rotating cast of characters to silence the Jays offence.
asserted
Rangers → use → offence
After Quantrill was replaced in the second, veteran lefty Jordan Montgomery tossed 3 2/3 scoreless innings.
asserted
Montgomery → replace → innings
Four other relievers combined to allow two runs in four innings.
asserted
relievers → combine → innings
Beyond a struggling offence, the Jays have also been plagued by poor defence.
asserted
Jays → struggle → defence
The advanced metrics are more positive than most people would think, with their sixth-ranked 44 defensive runs saved and 10th-ranked 21 outs above average, but they are also tied with the Miami Marlins for the third-most errors with 98.
asserted
they → think → 98
Teams rarely get away with mistakes at this time of the year, and this series has been no exception.
asserted
series → get → year
The Jays made three errors in the series opener and there was another big one in Saturday’s rematch.
asserted
Jays → make → rematch
Jays starter José Soriano served up a solo homer to Josh Jung in the first inning.
asserted
Soriano → serve → inning
He opened the second by hitting a batter and walking another to put runners on first and second.
asserted
He → open → first
That’s when Andrés Giménez made an impressive diving grab on a sharp grounder to short — then threw the ball away at second.
asserted
Giménez → ’ → second
The inning unraveled from there.
asserted
inning → unravel → ?
One runner scored and Nicky López advanced to third.
asserted
López → score → third
He later scored on a ball in the dirt that skipped away from Kirk as the Rangers scored two in the inning without registering a hit to take a 3-0 lead.
asserted
Rangers → score → lead
They scored three more in the sixth to put the game out of reach.
asserted
They → score → reach
The season that began with such lofty expectations for the American League defending champions is now all but certain to end in failure.
asserted
that → begin → failure
It is a missed opportunity for MLB’s fifth-highest payroll (per Cot’s Baseball Contracts) especially in a season where a team in the low-80s in wins will still qualify for the playoffs.
asserted
team → miss → playoffs
The Jays weren’t nearly good enough through the first four months and, despite some strong play in August, it’s painfully obvious they aren’t good enough now, either.
asserted
they → ’ → August
This was supposed to be the season the Jays went back to the World Series to try and finish the job.
asserted
Jays → suppose → job
…and 1 more, not listed.
The Aporia
